Whether they are bowling, hanging out or going to a movie with their new friends, Lipscomb’s Best Buddies are making a difference. And their Buddies are making a difference in their lives as well.
Best Buddies is a nonprofit organization founded in 1989 by Anthony Kennedy Shriver – son of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Peace Corps founder Sargent Shriver — with one objective: to create opportunities for one-to-one friendships for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Lipscomb’s chapter was launched about a year ago.
Students from this campus as well as Best Buddies campus chapters from Belmont, Vanderbilt, MTSU and Trevecca have the unique opportunity to be connected and create individual friendships with people who are intellectually and developmental disabled, a “Buddy.”
Students, or College Buddies, get paired with a person with a disability and build a relationship by doing things that a normal college student would do like talking on the phone, going out to dinner, watching a movie, or just simply hanging out.
Lipscombʼs Best Buddy College Buddy Director, Deborah Hagerty, has seen the impact her friendship has made in the life of her buddy.
Even recalling a story between her and her buddy brings a smile to her face.
“You don’t realize what a big impact it is and how important it is for these people that you are in their lives until that moment when you walk in and theyʼre so excited that they are falling over themselves,” Hagerty said.
Kristin Watts, Best Buddies Tennessee Program Manager, understands the impact College Buddies can make on their Buddies’ lives. Watts has first-hand experience and a strong bond with the organization, for she has been involved with Best Buddies through her high school and college careers.
“Some individuals have never had a friend who does not have a disability, and it means the world to them,” Watts said.
Along with individual activities that College Buddies and Buddies do, there are also monthly group activities with others who are involved in the program.
Some activities include bowling night, a Predators game, a Bisons basketball game, a photo shoot and the ever-popular annual Best Buddies Prom.
It is never too late to get involved. Both Watts and Hagerty encourage students to get involved and make a difference.
“We are all the same,” Watts said. “It doesnʼt matter whether we have a disability or not. We need to focus on peopleʼs abilities and not their disabilities.”
For more information on how to get involved with the Lipscomb Chapter of Best Buddies visit www.bestbuddiestennennessee.org.